Polymer

How to use TGA for the quality control of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers

CFRP_TGA_quality control_netzsch

The determination of fiber volume fraction is crucial for the quality control of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) in order to ensure their favorable mechanical and physical properties for the use in aerospace, wind energy and automotive sectors. A new thermogravimetric testing method, published by Dominik Grund in the journal “Polymer Testing”, considers heating rate, analysis atmosphere and sample size to efficiently ensure high quality of the material. This editorial summarizes the steps for the use of TGA in the quality control of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers.

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How mechanical properties of polymers change with temperature

Professor Dr Tim. A. Osswald and Dr Tobias Pflock talk about the effect temperature has on the polymer’s properties. The room temperature modulus is often the only value given to describe the mechanical property of a polymer material. But temperature dependence of mechanical performance of polymer material significantly differs to that of other materials such as metals or ceramics and is vital information for many everyday applications of polymers.

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Smart Thermal Analysis (Part III): Automatic Evaluation of DIL and TMA Curves

AutoEvaluation by NETZSCH is an intelligent software functionality which can automatically and autonomously (not via pre-defined macro!) evaluate thermoanalytical measurement curves. This is not only helpful but also time-saving! AutoEvaluation was introduced for DSC, TGA and STA and is now available also for dL signals from Dilatometer (DIL) and Thermomechanical analyzers (TMA)!

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Thermal Interface Materials (TIM): Thermal Conductivity Testing

TIM Application

Characterization of the thermal performance of thermal interface materials (TIM) used in electronics packaging can be critical to maintaining reliable performance, especially with the rapidly increasing heat dissipation requirements of each new generation of electronic components.
To make routine measurements on TIM’s faster – without the impact of contact resistance, you can rely on Light- or Laser-Flash Methods (ASTM E1461)

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Optimize the Curing of Composites with Kinetics Neo

BLACKS Composites SRL and NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing made the next milestone in its already proven Partnership: Improving the curing of a CFRP bike rim with a simultaneous drastic reduction of the cycle time during cross-linkage. The bike rim was processed through hand lay-up technology and a subsequent autoclave curing. Saving cycle time with a better curing is not possible? It is! Based on the data of a differential scanning calorimeter and the simulation software Kinetics Neo, the cycle time was reduced by 46% compared to the cure cycle suggested by the material data sheet. Additionally, a higher degree of cure could be achieved to meet the target curing and avoiding overheating effects of the product.

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Clever Tool for Short Cooling Times

How do nucleating agents influence the crystallization behavior of your polymer in the mold? To answer questions like these, the kinetics of the crystallization reaction is determined for mixtures of polypropylene with different nucleating agents. The results are used to carry out predictions on the product behavior for any temperature programs.

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